Tatakau Shisho Vol 1 Chapter 6

A STORM, THE MAGIC BLADE, AND TORTOISESh.e.l.l – PART 1

February 13, 2016Tgurneu

 

Half-eaten bread had been laid in front of Colio. He picked it up and ate it. It was already dry and hard.

His life had no meaning, but his stomach was still empty. While thinking about meaningless things such as whether it was better dying with a full stomach or not, Colio smiled a little.

Children ran on the road, and Colio looked at them. It wasn’t because they interested them; he just instinctively looked at moving things that came near his eyes.

“There, it went there!”

“No, it’s not here.”

“Where did it go?”

“I dunno.”

“Let’s go back already…”

“The wind is getting really strong.”

“It’s probably going to rain.”

The children were cheerfully playing around. Colio stared apathetically at them.

“Call it one more time.”

“Ok, let’s do it.”

It seemed the children were looking for something. Thinking about it, they always seemed to have a cat with them. They were probably searching for it.

The children gathered together and shouted in unison,

“TOORTOOISESHEELL!”

Colio immediately stood up like a spring.

He remembered. That was one of s.h.i.+ron’s aliases that she told him of.

“That cat!”

The children were startled by Colio suddenly speaking.

“Who is that cat’s owner? Where is it?”

It might have been a coincidence. But Colio wasn’t calm enough to consider it.

“Huh? We don’t know.”

One child answered.

Another child raised her hand.

“I know who that cat’s owner is.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s mister Carth.e.l.lo!”

It was a familiar name. Colio asked again while thinking that it was unbelievable.

“Cartohelo Mashea?”

The girl nodded.

“Ia Mira’s boyfriend?”

She nodded again.

 

Hamyuts went out of the town to change her location.

She was at an abandoned storehouse far from the mines. There were no people around, and nothing too important to break. It wasn’t bad for a battlefield.

Hamyuts planned on ambus.h.i.+ng Cigal here.

She had no way other than fighting and defeating him.

Although most of her power was sealed, Hamyuts didn’t plan on losing.

“…”

She took slow breaths and tried to concentrate.

She understood he was coming.

After all, his preparations were complete.

 

Colio headed towards Ia’s residence while asking people for directions.

The wind gradually grew stronger. Raindrops that fell like rocks began wetting his face. By the time his hair was dripping wet, he found Ia’s place. It was an attic room of a small apartment. It was residence for two people atop the narrow stairs.

“Cartohelo Mashea   Ia Mira”

Their names were written on the door as if snuggling together.

Colio hesitated while standing in front of the door. Maybe he shouldn’t meet her.

But, even if his life had no meaning, he wanted to know more about s.h.i.+ron. These feelings of his didn’t waver.

Even so, it was a nostalgic name. He met her just a few days ago, but it already felt like the distant past. Colio wondered how much has changed.

“…Hey, don’t go there!”

As he was thinking about this, a voice resounded from the bottom of the stairs. He turned around and saw a man that was probably one of the neighbors.

“You can’t go near that apartment.”

The man said.

“…Why?”

“I don’t know. The Armed Librarian Hamyuts Meseta came here and said this. Anyway, you can’t enter.”

“I see.”

Colio pretended turning back, and when he saw the man wasn’t there anymore, he returned to the door and knocked.

There was no reply.

After hesitating a bit, Colio opened the door and entered.

“…Hamyuts-san?”

The moment he opened the door, he could hear Ia’s voice. Colio was surprised to hear her mention Hamyuts.

Then, there was the voice of a violent cough.

The place was filled with the stagnant smell of body odor characteristic of a place with sick people in it.

“Ia Mira?”

Colio called.

“…Who is it?”

It seemed like Ia didn’t remember his voice. Colio went further inside. When Ia saw his face, she raised an eyebrow. She seemed to recognize him, but she couldn’t understand the reason for his visit.

“…You’re…”

“…Umm…”

Colio was stumped. Even though he suddenly stormed inside, he didn’t think about what to say. He was fl.u.s.tered.

“Why’re you…?”

“…A lot has happened.”

Thinking a bit, Colio said only this. Ia was perplexed.

Colio looked around. It was a narrow room.

There were only one bed and a closet. Next to a single table were two chairs. There was barely enough furniture for one person, and it was apparent that two people have lived here.

Ia was lying in a somewhat wide bed. Her complexion didn’t look bad, but she had dark circles under her eyes and her expression seemed vacant.

At that time, something entered the room, went through Colio’s legs and rubbed against his s.h.i.+n.

“Oh, Tortoisesh.e.l.l.”

“This cat…”

“It’s my… no, Cartohelo’s cat.”

Ia stretched a hand from the bed and stroked the back of the cat.

“Well then, get out now. I don’t know why you’re here, but I’m sick. Those were the instructions of the Library Director Hamyuts-san.”

“No.”

“You have to.”

Ia coughed.

“…I’m going to die.”

Hearing her talking about death, Colio felt some response in his heart.

“What happened?”

Colio asked.

“Dragon Pneumonia. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true.”

“Dragon Pneumonia…”

“Please don’t tell other people about this. It’ll cause panic. She told me to stay here and let no one come near.”

After saying this, she coughed again.

Colio recalled s.h.i.+ron’s Book. She said it – that another breakout of Dragon Pneumonia will happen in the distant future.

But, he didn’t think that it would happen right now.

“So just leave. You’ll die.”

“…No, I won’t go.”

Ia looked troubled.

“You really are a strange person.”

Colio also felt troubled hearing that. He certainly was a strange person.

But more importantly, he wanted to breach the main topic.

He came here to ask about the cat. It seems that it was named Tortoisesh.e.l.l. As he thought about how to breach the subject, Ia started talking with him instead.

“Hey, is it true you had a bomb in your chest?”

“…”

Colio nodded. He was surprised, but it was probably Hamyuts that told her of this when she came over.

“Was it made by bad people?”

Colio wondered how he should answer that.

“But you don’t have it anymore. That’s what Hamyuts-san said.”

Colio nodded.

“So, everything’s good.”

Ia said while smiling. Despite them being almost complete strangers, she seemed to be really happy for him.

But Colio couldn’t feel honestly happy about her feelings. Since he thought he would rather be killed by Hamyuts, not being a bomb anymore wasn’t a good thing.

“I don’t know if that’s really good.”

Ia was surprised.

“Why?”

“I don’t know what I’m going to know from now on.”

“Why?”

“…”

Ia’s question didn’t hold any ill will against him. But it was a question Colio couldn’t answer.

He couldn’t even describe how he was living thus far.

“Sorry, it was a weird question.”

“…Yeah.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“…I don’t know.”

It was a vague answer, but it was the only thing he could answer.

Colio noticed that talking with Ia strangely calmed his heart. Perhaps Ia felt the same way when she wanted him by her side for a little while during their previous meeting. He couldn’t really understand.

“So, why did you come here?”

Colio thought back. He didn’t come here for small talk with the sick.

“That cat…”

When he wanted to point at it, it had already gone off to somewhere else.

“Where is it?”

“Ever since Cartohelo was gone, Tortoisesh.e.l.l doesn’t stay here a lot. What’s the matter with it?”

“…Why did you name the cat like that?”

“Why do you ask?”

Colio faltered. But he didn’t really need to be secretive. Did he have a reason to hesitate?

“A person I know was called by the name.”

“…You’re talking about Tortoisesh.e.l.l? That girl with the striped hair?”

Ia was surprised, and so was Colio.

“…How do you know about her? That Book was Cartohelo’s.”

 

Hamyuts felt a single man approaching. He was a well-dressed gentleman.

In his hand he held a small crystal ball.

He appeared to be unarmed.

One person.

The storm was becoming full-fledged. His prestigious suit was wet by the rain and the hair on his back disturbed by the wind. Hamyuts was also similarly wet.

The distance between them was about 200 meters. It was within her range, but Hamyuts didn’t attack.

Hamyuts couldn’t hit anyway because of this wind. Also, she wanted to see the face of the man who managed to corner her like this.

“h.e.l.lo.”

The one to begin talking was Hamyuts. The man showed his face from behind the storehouse.

“Hey, Hamyuts Meseta.”

Despite the two meeting to kill each other, it was a peaceful, gentle, and normal greeting.

As the two faced each other, Hamyuts talked.

“So you’re Cigal Crukessa.”

Cigal smiled as if she said something that didn’t even need asking.

“I wonder if I should say “nice to meet you”. Your Sensory Threads already touched my body countless of times. It was actually very unpleasant.”

It was as he said. He was one of the people she suspected of being Cigal Crukessa. However, she didn’t manage to find any concrete evidence of that until now.

Hamyuts thought that if she had some more time, she would be able to ascertain it soon.

But she didn’t have any reason to be thinking about that right now.

“Do you have s.h.i.+ron’s Book?”

“Yes, right here.”

The man said and presented the crystal in his right hand. There was indeed the fragment of a Book sealed inside. With that, he was able to evade Hamyuts’s Sensory Threads.

“I wonder if the cure for Dragon Pneumonia is written inside.”

“That’s obvious.”

Cigal smiled. Without taking into account the current situation, it looked like a charming smile. He seemed to be good at attracting people.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

An exceptionally strong wind swept in the s.p.a.ce between the two. Their clothes fluttered. A nearby pile of timber collapsed and leaves danced in the wind as if they were knives. Cigal seemed to be a bit unsteady, but Hamyuts stood unperturbed as if it was a mere breeze.

“What is it? This rain is horrible. I’d like to wrap this up as quickly as possible.”

“What are you going to do from now on?”

Hamyuts’ question could be interpreted in many different ways.

“Hahaha. You can’t even understand that?”

“It can’t be that you’re only going to kill me.”

“If you knew why did you ask? You sure are foolish as expected.”

The blood rose to Hamyuts’s head a little. But she didn’t lose her composure in that anger. Rather, she was the type of person to clear her mind when she became angry.

“So, you just wanted to kill me?”

“Exactly.”

Cigal spread his arms.

“Do you understand? At least the fact that you’re a hindrance to us.

The only thing dangerous to me in this world is your sniping ability. So I wanted to quickly eliminate you.”

“I see, that way of thinking isn’t too bad. That’s why you lured me here.”

“Right. Since I sealed your sniping and got within this distance, I don’t have anything to fear.”

“So the bombs were simply used to buy time?”

“Bombs? Ah, right, I did prepare such things. But they don’t really mean much.”

“Aah…”

Hamyuts sneezed and rubbed her wet nose.

She lifted her dripping hair and rubbed her face.

“I changed my mind. I originally thought about letting you live if you were to beg for your life while crying and wetting your pants.”

Hamyuts started swinging her sling. The spray of water droplets became a fine mist.

“How vulgar. You’re really disgusting.”

“Die.”

Several pebbles flew in the air. The string of Hamyuts’s sling spun around in speeds that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. She threw the pebbles immediately as she caught them in midair. They became deadly bullets that a.s.saulted Cigal in a straight line.

“How useless.”

Cigal said. A split second before he was turned into minced meat, the high-speed pebbles were shattered to dust.

“Wha-”

Hamyuts raised a voice. When did it happen? Cigal’s hand now held another thing inside a crystal.

He held an iron sculpture shaped like a spider.

From its rear a silky blade swiftly extended.

Cigal said,

“Defile, Ever-Laughing Magic Blade Shlam.u.f.fen.”

The crystal was broken. The spider hilt fell into his hand.

As expected from what was seen inside the Book, and as expected from the name that s.h.i.+ron gave it, Shlam.u.f.fen started laughing.

An invisible line was engraved in the air.

Hamyuts flew to the side.

The s.p.a.ce she had been occupying a second ago was ripped to shreds.

“Haha.”

Looking at her, Cigal laughed.

Hamyuts didn’t immediately counterattack. She turned her back and ran. While running, she shot at him.

Pebbles were thrown with a powerful rotation. The air resistance made the trajectory of the gale of bullets rotate.

The line of fire drew a semicircle as it aimed for Shlam.u.f.fen in Cigal’s hand from the side.

However, it was once again scattered into fine sand.

The figure of Hamyuts was already out of Cigal’s sight.

Water sprayed around with the sound of her speeding up and running along puddles.

Hamyuts was going around the perimeter to look for an opening.

Cigal couldn’t follow her with his eyes.

He turned around as he felt a presence from directly behind him and an attack came from the opposite side.

Despite Cigal not being able to react, the pebbles became dust and scattered in the air.

“Tch, over there?”

At the moment Cigal swung the Magic Blade, Hamyuts had already switched her location. The attack only served to turn the raw material around them to sc.r.a.ps. A mountain of piled timber became wood splinters.

Hamyuts’s next shot attempted to hit the unguarded enemy.

But once again, it disappeared without any sound.

Hamyuts and Cigal were clicking their tongues at the same time.

The fight kept going relentlessly.

While fighting, Hamyuts evaluated Cigal’s abilities-

His speed and the way he carried his body.

His eye movements.

His competence and judgment in using his weapon.

Putting all of those together, Hamyuts reached the conclusion that Cigal’s capabilities were several levels below hers. He was probably even below Armed Librarians such as Luimon or Mirepoc.

His reflexes did indicate that he received some battle training.

However, he only had the strength of a human that never exerted himself to the point of vomiting blood even once.

His reactions were dull. His defenses were loose. His sense of danger was lacking.

When viewed from the eyes of the battle-able Hamyuts, he had plenty of clear weaknesses.

However, in this situation where the storm sealed Hamyuts’s battle capabilities, close combat was her weak point. And the Magic Blade Shlam.u.f.fen filled the gap between their battle strength and began reversing the tide.

 

 A STORM, THE MAGIC BLADE, AND TORTOISESh.e.l.l – PART 2

February 16, 2016Tgurneu

 

Colio knew that the storm became full-fledged.

The sound of something crumbling came from somewhere.

Colio didn’t know if this was due to the storm blowing something off or due to Hamyuts fighting.

She was probably currently battling against the mastermind behind the people like him and Relia. However, both Hamyuts and the mastermind had no connection to him anymore. He was abandoned by the both of them.

“Umm, try looking in the top shelf.”

Ia said while lying on the bed.

“It’s probably there.”

Colio opened the cupboard. It was messier than he imagined. He started looking inside.

“Hey, Colio-kun.”

While he was searching, Ia talked with a hoa.r.s.e voice.

“Cartohelo died because of a bomb, right?”

Colio stopped his hand and turned around to see Ia raise her head from the bed.

“Yeah.”

“…Did you see it?”

“Yeah.”

She was silent for a while. Colio was staring at her.

“But you didn’t kill him.”

“…It was an accident. We tried helping him.”

“I see…”

Ia’s expression indicated she wasn’t sure what she should do. She seemed to search for some outlet for her overflowing emotions.

“What did he say in his last moments?”

“Huh?”

“If you heard him, please tell me. I want to know.”

“…”

Colio didn’t answer.

When Hyoue exploded Colio did his best to escape the blast. He couldn’t hear anything.

Also, inside of that explosion, what would he say? He didn’t think anything was said.

“I see. Sorry.”

Ia, who understood the situation from Colio’s silence, apologized in a lonely-sounding voice.

“Why did you ask?”

“We had a promise.”

“What promise?”

“That we’d call each other’s names as we die.”

“…”

“But it’s fine. If he did say anything, I’m sure that he did it.”

Ia, who probably didn’t want him to see her expression, turned around in bed.

“I’ll definitely say it as well, so that’s fine. But if I’d said such a thing to Hamyuts-san she would be angry.”

She turned around again.

“Oh, right. It’s also somewhat relevant to Tortoisesh.e.l.l.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t explain it. You’ll understand when you see the Book. So find it.”

She was right. Colio continued his search.

“Thinking about it, I wonder what the name of that girl is. She must have had a proper name. Do you know it?”

Colio instantly lied.

“I don’t know.”

“…I see.”

If he told Ia, she would probably detest s.h.i.+ron. It made Colio sad. For as long as possible, he didn’t want her to know about s.h.i.+ron. For as long as possible, he wanted her to like s.h.i.+ron.

Then, at the topmost shelf, he found a small piece of a Book about the size that would fit inside a spoon. It was probably left there for a long time since it gathered some dust. It was the same kind of ashen dust that drifted from the chimneys of this town.

Colio asked,

“Can I read it?”

And Ia answered,

“Sure.”

Colio extended his slightly trembling fingertips.

The wind was becoming stronger. The storm was shaking Ia’s small apartment.

His fingertips touched the Book. He felt as if it whispered that it was waiting for him.

 

While circling the town, Hamyuts was thinking.

Just how much time pa.s.sed since the start of their battle?

Was it an hour or two?

She could feel her legs, thighs, and calves stiffening with fatigue faster than usual.

Even the weight of her wet clothes felt like it restrained her.

She ran on the roof of a house, jumped on walls, ran on the ground, and danced in the air. While running around, Hamyuts kept attacking.

She couldn’t win from close range. Even a distance where they could see each other by eye wasn’t good enough.

She had to gain as much of a distance as possible.

Feeling the signs of an attack, Hamyuts jumped away. The s.p.a.ce she occupied just then was a.s.saulted by Shlam.u.f.fen, and she ran away with all of her strength.

How troublesome, Hamyuts thought.

Logically, even when including Shlam.u.f.fen, Hamyuts’s battle capabilities exceeded those of Cigal. If she could gain a sufficient distance, spend some time on accelerating the stone bullets and shoot them from ultra-long range at full power, she would probably be able to blow through Shlam.u.f.fen’s defenses. Shlam.u.f.fen’s range was at most 50 or 60 meters. If she could gain distance, it wasn’t an enemy to fear.

But, she couldn’t gain that distance now.

As long as Shlam.u.f.fen’s attacks did not surpa.s.s hers, she could easily hit Cigal. In the first place, Hamyuts’s specialty was a long range surprise attack.

However, she just couldn’t buy enough time to do that.

It wasn’t an opponent she couldn’t beat. But right now, and only now, Hamyuts’s chances of victory were slim.

A storm comes to this town only once per century.

Cigal secured this small chance of victory that can only occur once a century.

He’s an opponent worse than c.r.a.p, but I’ll give him credit only for that part, Hamyuts thought.

She kicked the door of a house open. The couple and their children who were inside nearly fainted. She immediately grabbed them and threw them out of the window. The attack arrived immediately after. Half of the house was chopped apart and collapsed. Hamyuts covered her face in order to s.h.i.+eld her eyes from the falling debris.

“Alright.”

She could faintly hear Cigal’s voice. Seeing the chance, she shot a stone from within the rain of debris.

However, it was also scattered in vain. Hamyuts instantly ran away through the broken wall.

There was an uproar in town. Hamyuts shouted with a hoa.r.s.e voice to not go outside. She was reluctant coming to places which had people in them. However, while running around, she had no choice but to come here.

While evading the attacks of Shlam.u.f.fen, Hamyuts didn’t have any leeway of going back to the forest.

She was barely able to keep fighting.

Her evasion seemed to be ever so slightly faster than Shlam.u.f.fen’s limit. She somehow avoided the attacks. But, while Shlam.u.f.fen will never tire, Hamyuts was getting worn out. Before long, her feet will probably stop as if they were rusty wheels screeching to a halt.

To make matters worse, right now she had no way of attacking beyond Shlam.u.f.fen’s defense.

Her irritation and impatience hastened her fatigue. She would have to grasp victory before her fighting spirit and her rational judgment would become exhausted.

However, Hamyuts was already tired. Her body wanted to rest.

Her heating body, getting chilled by the rain, wanted some time to calm her heart.

She stopped while trying to gain some distance.

Seeing that, Cigal also stopped walking.

“What are you planning to do?”

Hamyuts said. She tried hiding her rough breaths.

“…What do you mean?”

“Your motive is already clear. Or do you think you can trick me like s.h.i.+ron?”

“Hahaha.”

That laughter made Hamyuts angry.

“Is there any need to hide it? If you want the cure, you can get on your knees and beg. Maybe I should just get rid of a nuisance like you, though…”

“…You idiot.”

Hamyuts uttered.

He was a foolish man. He had some talent but was imprudent and superficial. He was a man weak of heart. Since he had time to waste on that useless banter, he should have attacked already.

What was that guy’s plan in the first place? Does he think that by possessing the cure he can make people do his bidding? He only concerned himself with bombs and slaves, so he probably didn’t really understand humans.

Was she going to lose to this sort of opponent? While thinking this, Hamyuts rushed ahead.

“Well then, die already.”

Hamyuts leapt ten meters backwards. With that movement, she barely evaded the attack.

The opponent she needed to defeat wasn’t Shlam.u.f.fen. She had to target the one holding it, Cigal.

He said that Hamyuts’s sniping was scary.

When the wielder is completely unaware, Shlam.u.f.fen shouldn’t be able to activate its defensive capabilities.

She had to create an opening.

She had to find a chance to disappear from Cigal’s consciousness.

It didn’t matter that he was a third-rate opponent. He was an opponent who carefully prepared to such an extent just to kill her.

Was that even feasible?

While hesitating, Hamyuts ran. Look for it. Think. You have to find an opening.

The rain became lighter.

The sky was quickly covered by clouds.

 

The Book opened.

Colio’s consciousness was pulled back 250 years in the past.

A girl was crying. With her back against the wall, near a gutter, the girl was crying.

She was probably around ten years old. She seemed to be in the slums area. Obscene words were scribbled in mud on the wall.

There was no one near her. Her surroundings were dim, the sun was setting, the city was bleak, and her hair was striped like the fur of a calico cat.

“Hey, Big Brother. You and Big Sister in the far future.”

She began speaking. There was no answer. But she kept talking to herself.

s.h.i.+ron seemed to be waiting for a reply. She kept talking as if losing her patience.

“Hey, please answer, Big Brother and Big Sister. I see. So Big Sister is called Ia? And Big Brother is called Cartohelo.”

s.h.i.+ron talked in a small, conservative voice.

“Please help me.”

s.h.i.+ron was silent for a while, as if waiting for an answer.

“I have only seen sad and painful things. I don’t know what I should do. Why should I live? Do I have no other choice?”

The girl kept talking to someone who wasn’t there.

“Just why… I will make a lot of people suffer. I don’t want that. But I can’t escape. I can’t escape no matter what I do. Besides, I’m going to be taken by bad people. Because I don’t want to be poor.”

While saying this, s.h.i.+ron’s eyes became moist again.

“…What am I supposed to do? Since I have no reason to live, what should I do?

Tell me. I’m watching. Yes, show it to me. I can see both Big Brother and Big Sister.”

The young s.h.i.+ron then waited for a while. Her tortoisesh.e.l.l colored hair suddenly swayed.

Colio understood she activated her Prediction ability.

“…Thank you, Big Sister, Big Brother. I don’t really know right now. But someday I will.”

The young s.h.i.+ron was smiling shyly. Once again, her hair moved.

“Yes, it’s like this with that person.

I don’t know his name, but I do know what kind of person he is.

He’s strong. He’s really strong.

There’s a stormy day. I saw a really stormy day.

That person, while covering up for a woman, will carry a small knife and call my name.”

A faint smile appeared on her face wet of tears.

“That person’s going to watch the sunset with me. This is much later, when I’m already an adult. Yes, we will watch it together. Isn’t that amazing? I’m going to watch the sunset with that person.”

s.h.i.+ron seemed happy.

The Book ended there. It was a terribly short Book.

 

Colio opened his eyes.

For a short while, he was at a loss for words.

“That girl knew our names. Isn’t that strange?”

Ia said.

“Cartohelo was really worried about that girl. He said he wanted to help her somehow, and when he tried saying something to her, she spoke to the both of us.”

Ia talked in a gentle voice, as if feeling nostalgic.

“We didn’t know why that girl suffered so much, and even if we knew we couldn’t do anything. Maybe she really had no other choice besides bearing that pain.

But because we were thinking that we can’t do anything to help her, she started talking to us.

We couldn’t do anything besides giving her advice.”

“What did you say?”

Colio asked.

“We told her that one can’t find a reason to live on their own.”

Ia smiled.

“No matter how much you’d think about it, it was impossible to do alone. If you’ll live by yourself, it will just pain you.

Even if you think you are living alone, if you have someone being nice to you, you are never truly alone. That’s what we said.”

Ia’s words permeated Colio’s very being.

Along with it a strange feeling rose in his chest.

He felt a strange sense of unity as if s.h.i.+ron was at his side listening to Ia’s words.

He felt a peace of mind that they shared the same feelings.

He felt a sense of freedom as if the wall of time that separated him from s.h.i.+ron was demolished.

“It’s not difficult at all. Even I and Cartohelo, who can’t really accomplish much, can do only this.

We are never separate.

Even if it seems like we are far apart, he’s actually always by my side.”

That’s it, Colio thought.

s.h.i.+ron thought this way too, for sure.

“s.h.i.+ron.”

Colio let that name out of his mouth. He called her as if she was next to him. He didn’t think about calling her in this manner before.

He always thought of her as being far away. He always thought of her as unreachable.

No matter what he did, no matter what he said, Colio thought she was truly unreachable.

But that was wrong. She always was right here.

She was looking at Colio.

She was living next to him.

Right.

He lost his allies, lost his bomb, but he kept on living because s.h.i.+ron was there with him.

Thinking that s.h.i.+ron didn’t exist anywhere was a mistake. Colio always lived with her inside his heart.

What should he be doing from now on? Colio knew the answer.

He now understood the meaning of the words he heard long before.

There was no mistake. Those were s.h.i.+ron’s words, after all.

“…I’m going.”

Colio said as he returned the Book to the cupboard.

“Where to?”

“To a place I must go to no matter what.”

While saying so, he searched his pants. It was there.

The only belonging Colio had left. It was the small knife pa.s.sed to him when he first came to town.

Feeling its cold surface, Colio thought it would be good enough.

He didn’t need anything else anymore.

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know. I’m probably going to fight.”

“With whom?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why?”

Colio thought for a bit.

“Because s.h.i.+ron is there.”

“…”

It was a puzzling answer for Ia.

However, she didn’t press him any further.

Colio’s feelings were transmitted to Ia far clearer than his words.

“Thank you for bearing with me. I’m really… right. This is all thanks to you.”

Colio started walking.

“…I don’t really understand, but I’d prefer if you said it was thanks to Cartohelo.”

“I see. Right. It was thanks to Cartohelo and you.”

Colio was heading outside, into the unceasing storm. While seeing him off, Ia sent words of parting.

“…Thank you. Take care of yourself.”

“You take care of yourself too. You have to.”

Colio left through the front door. Then, he started running.

At some point, the rain stopped.

s.h.i.+ron mentioned a place where a precious person was lost.

He understood where it was.

It was the place where the person who led him to the answer, as well as a friend that didn’t become his friend, were lost.